Mohammed Khaku: Ramadan gives Muslims path to their spiritual journey

The Lehigh Dialogue Center in Bethlehem presents a community Ramadan dinner… (EMILY ROBSON, THE MORNING…)

July 25, 2013

The Islamic month of Ramadan, which began July 10, and the Christian Lent have a common belief that includes fasting. Fasting is an old practice, present in almost all world religions. It aims to bring up self-control and purifying of body and mind.

Catholic Lent practices were once more ascetical than they are presently and Lent has become an optional article of faith, which is not mandated by Scripture, whereas fasting in Islam is a compulsory obligation. Fasting during Lent is very often left to individual choice, while in Islam the abstention from food and drink is obligatory during the entire month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month during which Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn until sunset. Exceptions are made only for the elderly, sick people and children.

Lent and Ramadan have different meanings and different forms of manifestation. Lent is a season of sadness. Its main function is to help people to identify with Jesus and his good deeds to mankind. It's a time to honor great sacrifices by Jesus. While Ramadan is meant to make Muslims remember about the teachings of Islam and to abstain from lust, envy, anger, violence greed and gossip. Fasting and Lent make the believers remember about their religious heritage, give them opportunity for self-perfection and self-improvement.

As American Muslims, during the blessed month of Ramadan, we must overlook our long hours of going without food and drink and consider the poor, hungry and less fortunate around the world. From a social perspective, it is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our charitable giving, create lasting solutions for eliminating global hunger and reinforce personal restraint and promote self-improvement. From a religious perspective, Ramadan is a 30-day challenge to gain proximity to God by increasing our good works, asking for forgiveness, shedding our sins and increasing our knowledge.

Fasting is no doubt a challenge. But unless we want nothing more from Ramadan than hunger and thirst, we must ask why God has enjoined us to fast and what lessons we can collect from our empty stomachs. The hunger and thirst we experience while fasting are powerful reminders of our relationship with God. We cannot expect to magically restrain ourselves from committing sins if we are not accustomed to exercising self-control. Fasting is an opportunity to learn just how in control of our own bodies we are. And as the day wears on, our body demands a drink of water or a morsel of food, yet we learn to abstain. This is a lesson that when confronted by sins of lust, greed or anger, we must learn to deny those sins.

We speak of the need to spend more time on connecting with God and forming a strong bond with Him. There is no doubt that every Muslim is aware of the importance of Ramadan and the Nights of Power, of the fact that the value of one of those nights is equal to a thousand months, and yet we fail to reform ourselves or get closer to God.

Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr, a festival that marks the end of fasting, have become a time for feasting, festivities and fun as Christmas has become. So what happens to the spiritual aspect we talk about in the lectures every day? We recite the Quran, have Quran sessions and listen to scholars for half an hour, all done on daily basis as part of the tradition passed down from generation to generation.

What if this year we make resolutions to eat simple and smaller portions, give more in charity and prevent waste? If we manage to create a few constructive habits this month that become a part of us, the next Ramadan will provide us a higher starting point of our changes. These 30 days are an energy booster, or a spiritual boot camp, that when spent correctly will give us a jump-start in our spiritual travels.

But if we keep ourselves well-fed and happily distracted by social events and traditions, where will we get the motivation to make this journey to attain the best and the highest level of paradise? Do we want to remain where we are, in our comfort zones and stagnate spiritually? Or do we want to seek infinite reward? The choice is entirely ours to make.

Mohammed Khaku lives in Upper Macungie Township and is active in the Islamic community of the Lehigh Valley.